


Road Trip to Montana

by Tarn_Liberated



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Gen, Humanformers, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, More like Megatron is a human and Kaon is a small alien robot that won't leave him alone, Road Trips, tinyformers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 18:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17085788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarn_Liberated/pseuds/Tarn_Liberated
Summary: Megatron is an ex-gangbanger hoping to leave his violent life behind. On the day he plans to leave for good, he comes across a small robot rummaging around in the trash.He's taking Kaon along in case he might be useful later. That's all.





	Road Trip to Montana

**Author's Note:**

> I just really like the idea of robots chilling with people. Kaon's not stupid he's just new to Earth. ( ・ ̫・)
> 
> Takes place after they leave and they're already on the road.

Megatron fumbled in his pockets for money and handed the cashier a few quarters and bills, telling him he’d like the change in gas. The attendant mumbled a bit while they counted and barked out the extra, then nodded and wished him a good day. He unwrapped the sandwich he grabbed from the fridge inside and on the way to his jeep, peered inside at the tiny robot that blinked up at him. The window was rolled down and Kaon had all the time in the world to escape but no. He was still buckled in and waiting patiently for Megatron to return.

Megatron pumped the gas and leaned against the side of his vehicle, glad for the cooling breeze. His new phone buzzed in his pocket and rattled against what loose change he didn’t manage to fish out to give to the cashier. While he saved a few numbers, no one would— _could_ —find him. He was finally getting away from murder and drugs and actually living life.

 What would he do with himself? He finished high school and had no plans on continuing with college. He was twenty-nine, he wasn’t even sure if he could. He learned everything there was with the gangs he ran with and through the younger men and women that got pulled into the dirty deals that were still in the middle of their education. There was something sickening about seeing a nineteen year old kid sorting pills just to buy his way through college.

 Megatron planned on driving to Montana because no one looked for ex-gang members in Montana. As far as he knew gangs and cults were nonexistent there. His initial plan was to head south into Kentucky because… _Kentucky_. What criminal escaped to a place where the locals were gun-happy and everyone knew everyone? If not Kentucky then Mississippi but he tossed that idea aside because he wasn’t fond of getting any closer to the ocean then he had to. If they found him in Montana he could continue north into Canada and surely he could hide there until they gave up on searching.

 Half of his lunch was finished by the time the pump froze and he put it on its handle, holding the sandwich in his mouth while he twisted the cap back on. Kaon’s yellow optics followed him while he entered the jeep and shut the door, up until he put the key in the ignition.

 A little beep had him frowning and he heard Kaon’s claws pick at the passenger seat. He sighed and put on his seatbelt before he started the car. Kaon purred and wiggled in his seat, turning to stare out of the window as Megatron drove. This tiny robot cared more about Megatron than his own teammates did in Illinois.

 He drove with one hand and crumpled up the sandwich packaging, throwing it in the passenger side floor. Where in Montana would he go? He could buy an apartment somewhere and take a job as a simple worker at a nearby store. The thought of interacting with people daily had him frowning. He couldn’t understand why, though, because when he was in a gang all he did was interact with others. Probably because it was simple, easy. No one would come to him to kill him and he was safe so he could let his guard down. He couldn’t imagine that. Living freely.

 Megatron passed a slow driver mindlessly and Kaon ducked his head when he saw that the car was filled with other people. Houses weren’t cheap and he didn’t have nearly enough money with him to buy one. But with apartments came leases and background checks. Megatron had a few marks on his records—none confirmed because of contacts but they were still there—that would dissuade anyone from accepting him into their building. Did he have enough money to make a new identity? If he did he didn’t know where he’d start to look for someone who made counterfeits.

 Minnesota was flat. Green, but flat, with little to no buildings from what he could see from the interstate. Nearly to Montana, his time was running short on just what he would do. He had work experience but he couldn’t remember the last time he wrote a resume. He’d have to find a place to live that would accept his background and as for finances he wasn’t running low but it was nothing to gloat about. Gas wasn’t cheap and he still had hours to drive before he made it to the next state.

 Kaon was messing with the radio again, his small fingers poking at the buttons on the bass and turning them back and forth. “Leave it.” The robot stood, only the upper half of the belt stayed over its chest and stressed against the latch. Kaon cocked his head to the side and patted the radio. “Yes. That. Leave it alone.” Kaon processed the order and sat back down, tucking his shins behind the lower strap. Sitting down he couldn’t see out of the window very well but stared at the sky with mild interest.

 Megatron still wasn’t sure about taking this thing with him. It was a lump of metal that sort of understood him. It couldn’t speak, couldn’t comprehend anything more than simple orders, it reminded him of a new dog. A new _robotic_ dog. Kaon understood sit, stay/wait, leave it, pick it up, and a handful of other commands but he did as he pleased for the most part. What made something sentient? Was there a test someone had to fill out? Was it ambition or understanding? Infants didn’t understand most of _anything_ and it wasn’t like they had wants other than food and warmth. What made them sentient when young animals weren’t? Were animals even considered sentient?

 Megatron propped his elbow against the window and rubbed his forehead. Questions for another day, he supposed. With a full tank of gas and the quiet murmuring of the radio to keep him distracted, they drove for hours and when Kaon grew fidgety they pulled into a rest area. Megatron’s back hurt, he had been sitting for so long when he was used to being on his feet. Checking around and only finding one other car—the occupants were clustered around a giant splayed out road map near the lobby area—he walked around the side of the jeep and held open the door.

 Kaon squeaked and fumbled with the seatbelt, unable to unclip it he wiggled out and sprinted across the grassy area on all fours. Megatron stretched and moved to the vending machine, pulling out a wrinkled dollar bill to buy a drink. He caught sight of himself in the glass reflection and grimaced, running a hand over his face. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His hair was getting too long and the stubble on his face was starting to grow into a full beard. They had been sleeping in the jeep for three days so far when they had gotten lost. The maps Megatron pulled from the internet were incredibly old and outdated and more than once they drove on broken asphalt to meet a dead end.

 A motel sounded nice. One night at some dingy motel couldn’t hurt. Megatron heard Kaon running over and kicked his foot out when the little robot grabbed onto his pant leg. Kaon thought nothing of it and stared at the machine for a minute, then at the little cover that read ‘OPEN’ in upraised lettering. He stepped forward and gave it a curious push, trilling when the thin metal twisted back. Kaon was curious and Megatron wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. He allowed himself a moment to study Kaon and jabbed at a random button. The machine hummed and clanked and Kaon leapt back behind Megatron’s legs, a tiny growl coming from within his chest.

 A louder clang and Megatron pushed the latch open and grabbed the drink, twisting the cap after a moment to make sure it didn’t spray in his face. The drink was cold and bubbly and it helped his parched throat with its sweet taste. Kaon gasped and reached up, hands grabbing at the air.

 “This isn’t oil.” He told him, handing him the drink. “Don’t spill it.”

 Kaon set it on the ground and sniffed it, eyes cycling wide at the smell. The bottle was so big compared to him, nearly half his size. Megatron felt foolish for feeling like he was giving soda to a toddler. Kaon was a robot. Whatever he drank probably wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, the actual age was unknown. Kaon could have been an adult—but a stupid one. It was common in fiction that robots didn’t understand human culture so why would he understand language? Then again, usually it was aliens and not robots and Megatron wasn’t about to humor the idea that Kaon was a robotic alien. With both hands around the bottle, Kaon pulled it up to his mouth and took a gulp. Megatron heard it fizzle and Kaon yanked his head back, mouth parted with a hiss.

 Megatron reached down to take the bottle and wiped at the lip of the drink. Kaon beeped and scowled up at him, then seemed to think about something. He looked to the buttons with different drinks, then at the open flap, and up at Megatron. Kaon inched to the flap and pushed it open, peering into the shadowed hold. “All right, break’s over. Back to the jeep.”

 Kaon pulled himself up and into the machine before Megatron could catch him.

 “Kaon!” What if he got stuck inside? He couldn’t call for help, he was trying to make himself invisible not bring more attention to himself by asking police to save a robot. “If you get stuck I’m leaving you here.” He would. He would leave the thing there until the man came to refill the machine. Then it’d be his problem.

 Some metallic clinking inside of the machine and heavy movements had Kaon peeking out of the latch again, pushing three more bottles of the drink Megatron had bought out onto the ground. Kaon fell out and straightened himself, struggling to hold onto the three bottles. He turned his head up to smile at Megatron. Another glance around and Megatron picked up Kaon and and his treasures to head back to the vehicle. He wasn’t going to praise Kaon for his work, while it was impressive, he didn’t order Kaon to do such a thing. Kaon worked to properly set each drink in an empty cup holder while Megatron started the car. He’d figure out the limitations of the little bot once Kaon learned to understand English. Until then, Megatron pulled them back on the interstate toward Montana and let Kaon pick a different station.


End file.
